VBAC!!!!

This birth was very close to my heart! Not only did I have the honor of doulaing my best friend of 14yrs but she had an amazing VBAC!!! So proud of her!

I LOVE what I do!

Childbirth Classes

Loving Hands is now offering classes! I am teaching Childbirth classes at a local Waco store called Pinwheel Kids (Towe West Shopping Center near former Paper Bear on Valley Mills Dr). These are 6 week classes which include Newborn Care and Breastfeeding and costs $80 for birth mom and partner, also includes workbook. Other classes I teach include Breastfeeding, Cloth Diapering, and Baby Wearing. Call Rachel at 254-399-8100 at Pinwheel Kids to register!

Doulas and Dads

Many dads-to-be worry that a doula will replace them at the birth. A father may worry that his partner doesn’t trust him enough to be a support for her during labor. He may also be concerned that a doula’s presence at the birth will remove the intimacy of the moment.

But a doula can never replace the father’s role, which is to be there to love and support his partner. Plus, he also experiences the birth of the child, in his own way. As far as the doula interfering with the intimacy of the moment, the doula is only one member of the birth team, which includes nurses, a doctor or midwife, and sometimes other specialists. In fact, a doula can often help create that intimate feel by helping shoo the nurses or doctors out of the room for a moment, so the about-to-be-new-parents can be alone for awhile.

A doula is there to help the father, as much as she helps the mother. The fact of the matter is, our society places a great deal of pressure and responsibility on the father-to-be during labor. A childbirth class isn’t enough to prepare a new, nervous dad to support his wife through what may be one of the most difficult and challenging moments in her life. Is it fair to expect the father to remain 100% focused and calm, when his wife is struggling?

A doula can help support the father, so he can concentrate on his wife.

What Exactly is a Doula?

"Doula" is a Greek word whose definition has come to mean a woman who helps other women. The word has further evolved to mean a woman experienced in childbrith who provides continuous physical, emotional, and informational support to the mother before, during and after childbirth.

What Can a Doula do for Me?

A doula spends time with the pregnant mother to understand her desires about childbirth and helps her prepare for the natural course of childbirth along with the expectations of labor and birth. The doula understands the physiology of birth and the emotional needs of a woman in labor and will give her continuous support throughout the entire labor and birth. Immediate postpartum support is given to the mother in the place of birth.

Doulas help moms in many birth settings, such as hospitals, in birthing centers or in the comfort of their home. Doulas work beside physicians, midwives and nurses.

Doulas help preserve the memory of birth, recognizing childbirth as a key life experience that the mother will remember all her life and may help lower the risk of postpartum depression.

Statistics with Doula Care

Research studies have found that when doulas attend births, the following results happened:

• 50% reduction Cesarean birth
• 25% shorter labor
• 60% reduction in Epidural requests
• 40% reduction in Oxytocin use
• 30% reduction in analgesic use
• 40% reduction in forceps delivery